The present invention relates to an ink cartridge and a recording apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to an ink cartridge that supplies ink to a recording apparatus, and a recording apparatus to which this ink cartridge is attached.
In a recording apparatus such as an ink jet recording apparatus, an ink cartridge storing ink therein is mounted on a carriage of the recording apparatus, whereby ink is supplied to the recording apparatus.
The ink cartridge used in this recording apparatus has been described, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 8-174860. This ink cartridge uses a membrane valve as an ink supply system, and operates the membrane valve by difference between pressure on the recording apparatus side and pressure on the inside of the ink cartridge thereby to supply ink. In the ink cartridge using the membrane valve, since the special structure is unnecessary for the container inside in which ink is stored in order to hold the ink, a comparatively large quantity of ink can be stored. Further, this ink cartridge is high in ink supply performance to a recording head of the recording apparatus in comparison with another ink cartridge using a foam (described later), and therefore has a characteristic of being suitably applicable to a recording head for executing high speed printing.
As another example of the ink cartridge, a foam, such as urethane foam, functioning as an ink holding system is housed in a container body of an ink cartridge, and ink is supplied using capillary force of the foam. In the ink cartridge using the foam, holding power of ink is high and ink is difficult to drip. However, since the resistance of the ink flowing passage is high, the ink flowing amount is limited. Further, all of the ink held in pores of the foam is not supplied to the recording apparatus, and ink shortage frequently occurs in a state where the ink remains.
If the ink cartridge using the foam has the same outline as the ink cartridge using the differential pressure system, the former can be mounted on the carriage of the recording apparatus to which the latter is to be mounted.
Further, if these ink cartridges are the same as each other in the outline, the ink cartridge using the differential pressure system can be also mounted on the carriage of the recording apparatus to which the ink cartridge using the foam is to be mounted.
However, when the ink cartridge using the foam is mounted on the recording apparatus adjusted so as to become optimum in case that the ink is supplied by the ink cartridge using the differential pressure system, the recording apparatus does not always operate optimally. For example, the ink cartridge cannot frequently supply the ink flowing amount which the recording apparatus (the recording head) requires. Further, in case that the amount of the ink remaining really in the ink cartridge is different from the recordable amount using its residual ink, the recordable amount is not calculated correctly and end detection of the ink residual amount becomes inaccurate.
Similarly, when the ink cartridge using the differential pressure system is mounted on the recording apparatus adjusted so as to become optimum in case that the ink is supplied by the ink cartridge using the foam, the recording apparatus does not always operate optimally.